Process of producing fur felt strips



Patented .uly 1K0, 195i 21,560,514l i Pitcliss oPRoDUCING FUR FELT STRIPS rporat "*'l; us Norwalk, Canti.;V assigner to in of;y America, Norwalk, Conn.,

elraw'vinglf Application lune 20, 19415,kl Serial No. 600,651

'1 Claims.` (01528#7253'1 rerafesfftoi cheff-formaban y coarse texture andf appearance' are made'bytvvo distinct 'processes because of the naturev of the fiber. In the fur-felt process, the fur ber's are deposited byf suction orr a cone largerA than the finished sizen arelatively thin body-Which is L- we't Worked and snr-unit,`y as? i-t is felted, into the body- -of the requiredfsize. In the IW'olfelt process; wool is carded and-the Vwebweu'nd on a form'into a bat of predetermined thickness and the bat is--Worked by Vibrating vpressure'means inlthe presence of steam lrra substantially dry process'iuntil the bat is cOmpacted-to the -required' thickness.-

Fur felt material which is now used inl'm'i-l'- liner'y' andthe like is made; bythelfurfelt process by depositingA lfur bers on-'Very' large perforated cones and feltinglfthe body, lby theusual' wet treatment-into a skirt; The skirt is then` split into a-strip Thf'formatin of theselarge con: ical bodiesf'requires longer time andinore men to produceV than do' furfeltfhat bcl'iesl so thatum the output `cf the equipment isreduced and the costv of making the-material is'subseque'ntly highl Efforts to produce fur-'felt in longY strips 'or yardage by' the 'usual -vs/o'olfelt'process wherein the bersv arecarded-fand-la tinck-batl is'- formed and mechanically felted` tothe-required thickness have been made. However, theyv havev failed sinceit was practically impossible te obtain; a uniform-bat because cf-thefacttrat fur, under normal wool felt conditions, doesl'not car'dv Well; The imperfect bats-wouldproduce Weakr-fand'ununiform' fabrics which- Awerenotsatisfa'cto''rfyf 'ori acceptable. I

Attempts t0 overcome tliefvfailure of the f-'u-r f I 4havefound thatv ajblend-'of-,fur fibers' with cotton fibers; treated iniaccerdance with the process set` frth infapplication-"Seri'al No.' 548;: 320, led August 5, l9`4fljnowfPatent NO. 2429;; 07's; greeted-toaster' 14,) 194i,` to bec-ome center'- seeling;A and hereiafter'referr'ed to as center seeking cotton, produces satisfactory feltasid fur fibers blended' withA afsytheti'c fiber such' as casein; scybl-an` or other protein basey yfibers' (hereinafter referred'to" as synthetic fibers); and fur' ber's" blendedfwithsaid synthetic fibers' and centerllseekin'g cottonfibersl Also variousjtypes of fur fibers, i. e., fibers of different qualityl and length, maybe blended tgether''to produce a combination of fur :bers satisfactory'ior Vuse in tliis'prccess; K Y l The" blends'including fui" bers and the cettnV arid/or caseijnfbrs are of` particular ad: vantage in that the cttonard/or` casein fibers@ which" replace the'shrtfstck -in` theV blend', are relatively long iberfsi- In other werds,` thecot tribrs are approiirately 11/8 long-,1 the ca's'e in"` and soybean fibersfare* approximately 111/51. long and these replace the blend the short'fur bers which arel appreimat'ely '1A tol/2" lng': These lo'n'gberswhen mixed With'the usual fur berswhich are approximatelyr 1%. of an inch long produce a yblendfof relatively long` 'ber'sf which can be carded andfelted inv a-higlily s'atisiac'tr'yv and"eccn'mical'-mannerl` The proportion'sof furlsyntletic ber and cets ton used in these blends may vary in accordance with' the requirements"- 'ofi thes fabric.` Treated centerseekingv cottn'givsf body; strength and feel to the fabric andal'soai'ds in the felti'n'g of the fabric". casein-'1in' lihbrlelld hlpS Shrillkgand' aids the" feltin'g'l prdperties or the blend. Knowing the required properties' Yof the fabric; the proper'bers andthe" vpriiporticns theref necessary in the blendsvv-hich willA produce' afabric having Vthese properties;`canl readily be :l`eter'A mined.

The following blends are notto be vconsidered as deninglimitations'f on the invention but merely examples of the blends that I have used; to produce satisfactory felts by.,` the presentprocess. The se are: ablend of fur fibers and 40% 'Cotton fibers: a blepdfw fur fibers and/10% casein bers;` a blend of 60% fur, 20%- co'tt'n, 20% caseinfa blendI cf 50%l fur; '30% cottiijzofya casein; ands tiene of 40%i furet 17g cotton, 30% casein. .Y Each of these feltsha'd'the required body,'cmpactness handle or'feel and strength;A

tially eliminated by treating the blend to insure that the fibers thereof have a proper moisture content. This may be accomplished by humidifying the blend in any suitable manner, such as by storing it preferably at a warm temperature in Van atmosphere of between '70 to 80 per cent relative humidity for a period of at least twenty-four hours before it is used.

The blends also may be treated with any suitable emulsion or moistening agent when they are mixed in the fur blending machinery so that they retain the required amount of moisture 1n the blend.

The treated fur blend is fed to the usual wool carding machine. However, the action of the machine is modied so that it has a less tearing effect on the fibers, which being previously prepared, do not include any noils or the like to be torn apart, and functions primarily as a means for straightening out the bers into a thin web. One manner of reducing the carding action is by removing some of the carding rollers or reducing the speed of the machine.

The web is fed from the carding machine and formed into an elongate bat of the required thickness and having a predetermined length. I have found it necessary, in order to maintaln the blend in proper condition for Working during the carding and bat forming operation, to maintain the relative humidity of the atmosphere surrounding the equipment between '70 and 80 The bat may be formed in any number of Ways. For example, the web from one or more carding machines lmay be fed to an elongate support, such as a continuous belt, preferably horizontally disposed, to which the end of the web is secured and about which the web is wrapped until the bat of the desired thickness is formed. If necessary, one or more secondary belts or similar means may be disposed adjacent the main belt to engage the bat and hold it against the main belt as it builds up thereon. These secondary belts preferably move synchronously with the main belt and may be yieldably mounted so =as to move away from the belt as the bat increased in thickness. After the bat has reached its required thickness it is then cut transversely of the belt and stripped therefrom and then fed to the usual wool hardening machine.

When the bat is formed by bringing together a plurality of ywebs from different cards and placing them in superposed relation, it may be desired to cause the Web from at least one of the cards to be laid back and forth across the other web or webs so that the bers in one web are crossed by the fibers in the other web. This can be accomplished by feeding in the web at right angles to the main web and laying it back and forth across the main web.

The bat however formed is mechanically hardened by the action of/vibrating pressure applying elements in the presence of steam as is usual in the wool felt process.

-After the felt strip has been hardened it is fulled with the fulling machinery used in Wool felt operations into a fabric. It may then be dyed. preferably by pressure dyeing, to the required color.

After the fabric has been dyed, it is then pounced and finished by any suitable equipment adapted to operate upon yardage goods.

The term fur or fur ber used herein 4 means fur which has been carroted and/or otherwise prepared for felting.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of this invention and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

1. In the method of producing felt in yardage having the compactness, feel and appearance of ne fur felt, the steps of preparing and moistening a blend consisting of fur fibers and an artificial feltable fiber of the group consisting of center-seeking cotton, casein and soybean bers, and mixtures thereof; straightening the fibers of the blend into a thin Web by a modified carding action and building up an elongate bat from a plurality of thin webs on a support while maintaining the blend in a humid condition; removing the elongate bat from the support; feeding the bat through a hardening machine of the type used in the usual wool felt process to compact and harden the same by vibrating pressure; and fulling the compacted and hardened strip into a fabric.

2. In the method of producing an elongate strip of felt having the texture, feel and appearance of ne fur belt, the steps of preparing and thoroughly intermixing a blend consisting of fur bers and an artificial feltable fiber of the group consisting of center-seeking cotton, casein and soybean fibers, and mixtures thereof; humidifying the blend; straightening the fibers of the blend into a thin web by a modified carding action; building up from thin webs an elongate bat on a support, maintaining the blend in an atmosphere of 70 to 80% relative humidity during the carding and bat forming; stripping the elongatebat from the support; and hardening and fulling the bat into a fabric by the wool felt process.

3. In the method of producing an elongate strip of felt having the texture, feel and appearance of iine fur felt, the steps of preparing and thoroughly intermixing fur fibers, casein fibers `and center-seeking cotton fibers to produce a blend; humidifying the blend; straightening the bers of the blend into a thin untorn -Web by a modified carding action; building up from the thin web a thick elongate bat on a support, maintaining the blend humid during the carding and bat forming; removing the elongate bat from the support; and hardening and fulling the bat into a fabric by the usual wool felt process.

4. In the method of producing an elongate strip of felt having the texture, feel and appearance of ne fur felt, the steps of preparing and thoroughly intermixing fur fibers and centerseeking cotton fibers to produce a blend; humidifying the blend; straightening the fibers of the blend into a thin web by a modified carding action; building up from the thin web a thick elongate bat on a support, maintaining the blend humid during the carding and bat forming; removing the elongate bat from the support; and hardening and fulling the bat into a fabric by the wool felt process.

5. In the method of producing an elongate strip of felt having the texture, feel and appearance of fine fur felt, the steps of preparing land thoroughly intermixing fur bers and casein fibers to produce a blend; humidifying the blend; straightening the fibers of the blend into a thin web by a modified carding yaction; building up from the thin web a thick elongate bat on a support, maintaining the blend humid during the carding and bat forming; removing the elongate bat from the support; and hardening and fulling the bat into a fabric by the wool felt process.

6. In the method of producing an elongate strip of felt having the texture, feel and appearance of ne fur felt, the steps of preparing and thoroughly intermixing fur bers and synthetic bers of the class consisting of casein and soybean fibers to produce a blend; humidifying the blend; straightening the fibers of the blend into a thin web by a modified carding action; building up from the thin web a thick elongate bat on a support, maintaining the blend humid during the carding and bat forming; removing the elongate bat from the support; and hardening and fulling the bat into a fabric by the wool felt process.

7. In the method of producing yardage felt fabric having the texture, feel and appearance of fine fur felt, the steps of thoroughly intermixing fur bers and an artificial feltable ber of the group consisting of center-seeking cotton, casein and soybean bers and mixtures thereof to form a blend thereof, humidifying the blend; straightening the fibers of the blend into a thin Web by a modified carding action; superposing a plurality of the thin Webs to build up a thick elongate bat; and felting the bat by the usual wool felt process into a fabric.

GEORGE M. RICKUS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

